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Tracking my habits to identify overstimulation/meltdown triggers

AuroraBorealis

AuroraBorealis

Well-Known Member
Hi, I love tracking things. I want to track different things related to my neurodivergence, ultimately with the goal to identify triggers that cause overstimulation or even meltdowns, since I find it very difficult to recognize early on when I'm headed towards a meltdown. However, I am very bad at planning stuff like that by myself. I always look for a pre-made plan I can stick to (like a work-out plan, or a journal with readily set categories). But for this particular goal, I couldn't find anything, neither app nor journal, it was all for kids and not really suited to my needs. So I need to figure out the relevant things I need to track on my own and use an empty notebook (yay! love it). I already tried making a detailed journal entry each time I had a meltdown, but often I wasn't really capable to do that the same day, and the next day I'd forget, so I need something with clear, short categories I can fill out in a few minutes every day without thinking so much, to sit down like once a month or so to analyze it.

So far, I thought to track once per day:
- sleep quality (too little, too much, good)
- general mood (although that's already a super tough one, since mood has so many different variations - also, do I take the one in the morning, since after a meltdown it will be bad anyway?)
- level of anxiety (not in mood, since anxiety for me is both a mental as well as a body feeling that seems connected to overstimulation and meltdowns)
- hyperfixation (yes/no)
- overstimulation (yes/no)
- meltdown (yes/no)
- shutdown (yes/no)
- social contact (e.g. alone, partner, friends (at home/outside), family phone call), also whether I had alone-time that day or not
- productivity at home (household chores, work, paperwork)
- Exercise (yes, what kind/no)
- physical out-of-the-ordinary things, like illness, period, asthma attack

The list is already getting quite long, but those all seem relevant to me. Can you think of other important things, or any way to make this more efficient? I would like to make sort of graphic entries, like with colors, to oversee it better at the end of the month.
I appreciate it!
 
tree said:
Food.
What you ate and when.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice, but food is something I specifically don't want to track, since I had an eating disorder when I was younger and tracking my food was a big part of it, I don't want to trigger myself.
 
AuroraBorealis said:
Thanks for the advice, but food is something I specifically don't want to track, since I had an eating disorder when I was younger and tracking my food was a big part of it, I don't want to trigger myself.
Click to expand...
That seems to indicate food could actually be important in the process.

Maybe the most general notation, that you did in fact eat, wouldn't
be a problem?

I feel and behave very differently depending on what or whether I have
eaten. Some foods, or even smells of foods make a huge difference for
me. Particularly the ones I have to avoid due to allergy.
 
Write down was there a trigger that led up to this meltdown/spinout/blowup. Maybe rate the meltdown from 1-10 scale, like was a total blow-out. And specify if the trigger was sensory, environmental, people related perhaps? And is this a reoccurring trigger, then you can guage how to proceed.
 
I would add a 1 to 10 on how tired you feel 30 mins after waking up, beyond sleep. I can often tell how my day will go.

Alcohol the day before?

Also, something that measures the level of mental fatigue mid-day?
 
tree said:
That seems to indicate food could actually be important in the process.

Maybe the most general notation, that you did in fact eat, wouldn't
be a problem?

I feel and behave very differently depending on what or whether I have
eaten. Some foods, or even smells of foods make a huge difference for
me. Particularly the ones I have to avoid due to allergy.
Click to expand...
That might be an option. Just tracking whether I ate or not should be fine. More important might be if I felt physically hungry (cold, shaky, hyperactive) before.
marc_101 said:
I would add a 1 to 10 on how tired you feel 30 mins after waking up, beyond sleep. I can often tell how my day will go.

Alcohol the day before?

Also, something that measures the level of mental fatigue mid-day?
Click to expand...
The first one's a good idea. I drink alcohol maybe once a year, so the second one's out. The third one's interesting, but I'm not sure how to describe "mental fatigue". You mean, like, low mood and tired?
 
Maybe instead of mental fatigue something like mental strain or mental effort. Or maybe mental restlessness. So 1 to 10 scale on mental restlessness? Shutdowns for me are related to physical or mental fatigue. Say, I worked on something that requires intense focus, but also I was interrupted a lot or there was some other things happening that made my mind feel very restless. That translates into physical fatigue because I can't tell the difference. All that could cause a shutdown.

Another category could be a multitasking scale.
 
marc_101 said:
Maybe instead of mental fatigue something like mental strain or mental effort. Or maybe mental restlessness. So 1 to 10 scale on mental restlessness? Shutdowns for me are related to physical or mental fatigue. Say, I worked on something that requires intense focus, but also I was interrupted a lot or there was some other things happening that made my mind feel very restless. That translates into physical fatigue because I can't tell the difference. All that could cause a shutdown.

Another category could be a multitasking scale.
Click to expand...
A multitasking scale could be good. Multitasking is very strenuous for me.

Maybe what you're describing is what I describe as anxiety. A both mental and physical feeling of restlessness, coldness and discomfort, often (but not always) combined with low mood. During it, I'm usually more vulnerable for overstimulation and, if I keep going, for a meltdown.
The ironic thing is that, during that, I'm also more susceptible to fall into hyperfocus, which is not per se bad, but also makes me more vulnerable to overstimulation and meltdowns. It's like that feeling of anxiety (or what I describe as anxiety) is a general susceptibility of my brain for both positive and negative kinds of overstimulation.
 
Haha. As I said, I really have problems describing emotions/feeelings. If you asked, I would tell you that I'm never anxious because I can't name it. Sometimes I can, but other times I only realize that I was anxious when I'm not anxious anymore. Or if I take a beta blocker. It's such a weird thing...
 
marc_101 said:
Haha. As I said, I really have problems describing emotions/feeelings. If you asked, I would tell you that I'm never anxious because I can't name it. Sometimes I can, but other times I only realize that I was anxious when I'm not anxious anymore. Or if I take a beta blocker. It's such a weird thing...
Click to expand...
Oh, I have no idea if what I describe as anxiety actually is anxiety, or if that's just what I'm calling it. Maybe it's mental restlessness instead. Don't worry. I'm usually good at describing my emotions, but then with some, I'm completely oblivious too. Once, it was crystal clear that I had a UTI, I displayed all the symptoms in the book, but I was genuinely convinced that I suddenly had some anatomical variance there for a day or two. I honestly thought about booking an appointment with a urologist for surgery. And I am a doctor. Talk about obliviousness. Sometimes we're blind when things affect ourselves, even though we're perfectly capable at seeing them in others.
 
Maybe instead of figuring moods, just figure how many spoons you have for the day. Like 2 spoons, is don't do much. 10 spoons, run errands, deal with relatives, clean, meal prep, gas car, dentist appt, lol.
 
Aspychata said:
Maybe instead of figuring moods, just figure how many spoons you have for the day. Like 2 spoons, is don't do much. 10 spoons, run errands, deal with relatives, clean, meal prep, gas car, dentist appt, lol.
Click to expand...
How do you know in the morning in advance how many spoons you have for the day? That's something I'm still struggling with and what I'm also trying to figure out via this tracking project.
 
Gotta it. I guess l just think can l accomplish my "to do list", sometimes l just feel ugg. I know l have only 1 or 2 spoons. Other days, l am getting things done super fast based on my mood, and my energy level and the type of tasks l need to do. Sometimes l treat myself to a coffee if it's a errand l hate doing, like IRS office, or doctor appt, etc. You will come up with you own ideas to get thru what you need to do by doing your schematic.
 
I think my "how tired you feel in the morning" is essentially the number of spoons. Some days I just just wake up tired, regardless of how much I slept. The risk of shutdown or stress/restless brain go up. I also end up not eating well when I'm tired, and I seem to be sensitive about food. Everything works better when I can eat well.
 
For me a combination of the following leads to a meltdown:
- flashing lights, e.g. scenes that can trigger epillepsy in a film, flashing banners in shopping malls, some kinds of car lights in the dark flashing straight at me
- noise such as ambulance signal, traffic, alarm in a shop, loud music, 20 or more people talking loudly
- crowd - being touched and bumped into all the time
- stuffy air and bad smells, also often caused by crowds, traffic, bad air circulation e.g. in old buildings
- being hungry
- not enough sleep and I need 9 or 10 hours a day often, 8 minimum
- not taking breaks
 
AuroraBorealis said:
Hi, I love tracking things. I want to track different things related to my neurodivergence, ultimately with the goal to identify triggers that cause overstimulation or even meltdowns, since I find it very difficult to recognize early on when I'm headed towards a meltdown. However, I am very bad at planning stuff like that by myself. I always look for a pre-made plan I can stick to (like a work-out plan, or a journal with readily set categories). But for this particular goal, I couldn't find anything, neither app nor journal, it was all for kids and not really suited to my needs. So I need to figure out the relevant things I need to track on my own and use an empty notebook (yay! love it). I already tried making a detailed journal entry each time I had a meltdown, but often I wasn't really capable to do that the same day, and the next day I'd forget, so I need something with clear, short categories I can fill out in a few minutes every day without thinking so much, to sit down like once a month or so to analyze it.

So far, I thought to track once per day:
- sleep quality (too little, too much, good)
- general mood (although that's already a super tough one, since mood has so many different variations - also, do I take the one in the morning, since after a meltdown it will be bad anyway?)
- level of anxiety (not in mood, since anxiety for me is both a mental as well as a body feeling that seems connected to overstimulation and meltdowns)
- hyperfixation (yes/no)
- overstimulation (yes/no)
- meltdown (yes/no)
- shutdown (yes/no)
- social contact (e.g. alone, partner, friends (at home/outside), family phone call), also whether I had alone-time that day or not
- productivity at home (household chores, work, paperwork)
- Exercise (yes, what kind/no)
- physical out-of-the-ordinary things, like illness, period, asthma attack

The list is already getting quite long, but those all seem relevant to me. Can you think of other important things, or any way to make this more efficient? I would like to make sort of graphic entries, like with colors, to oversee it better at the end of the month.
I appreciate it!
Click to expand...
That's quite a list. I'd be concerned about making it too long. The more you have to track, the less likely you'll keep up with it all. It is a good idea because you can modify your environment to reduce the number of triggers you encounter. You might also learn areas you could improve your reactions to.
 
Au Naturel said:
That's quite a list. I'd be concerned about making it too long. The more you have to track, the less likely you'll keep up with it all. It is a good idea because you can modify your environment to reduce the number of triggers you encounter. You might also learn areas you could improve your reactions to.
Click to expand...
I know, it got quite long already, even without additional suggestions. However, those are all things that seem to be relevant in this matter, and I don't know which ones to leave out. And I find it hard to modify things once I already got going with a project, so I'm always worried about leaving something very important out and thereby falsifying my "data".

I got some very good input here, though. I will think it over and come up with a concept.
 
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